It doesn't merely tell RCI missionaries what to believe. Properly taught, it challenges the very ways human beings divide, rank, devalue, and exclude one another.
The reconciliation of Christ confronts the divisions of humanity
Racism — We regard no one according to the flesh.
2 Corinthians 5:16 challenges us not to evaluate people according to merely human standards. No ethnicity or nationality makes someone more worthy of the Gospel, more deserving of dignity, or more qualified to receive Christian love. Every person bears God's image (Genesis 1:27).
Classism — We no longer measure people by worldly status.
James 2:1–9 warns the Church against showing favoritism to the wealthy while dishonoring the poor. At RCI, a person's income, education, occupation, social influence, or lack of resources must never determine the dignity and compassion they receive.
Sexism — We recognize the dignity God gives to women and men.
Galatians 3:28 declares that in Christ, distinctions such as male and female do not determine one's standing as a child of God. Women and men alike are recipients of God's grace and are called to faithful discipleship. RCI should treat every person with dignity and establish its ministry practices from a careful, consistent reading of Scripture.
The foundational declaration
Your credo already contains the seed of this conviction:
“We regard no one according to the flesh.”
That statement should not be reduced to a slogan about treating everyone nicely. It has profound implications for how RCI sees people, selects leaders, provides assistance, builds relationships, and carries the Gospel across cultural and economic boundaries.
Paul grounds this new way of seeing people in the reconciling work of Christ. We are not reconciled to God because of our race, wealth, social position, or human prestige. We are reconciled through Jesus Christ.
And the Church, as the community entrusted with the message of reconciliation, must not rebuild the very walls that the Gospel calls us to confront.
One important distinction: reconciliation with God does not mean every person is automatically saved, nor does equal dignity mean every person has the same calling or function in the Church. It means that our treatment of people must be governed by the truth, justice, mercy, and love of Christ—not prejudice, favoritism, or worldly status.
The RCI standard
The RCI Principle of Human Dignity
Grounded in 2 Corinthians 5:16–21; James 2:1–9; Genesis 1:27; and Galatians 3:26–28.
REDEMPTIONCORPS INTERNATIONAL rejects racism, unjust favoritism, class-based discrimination, and the devaluation of people on the basis of sex. We affirm the God-given dignity of every human being and commit ourselves to proclaiming the Gospel, serving our neighbors, and making disciples without partiality. We will not measure a person's worth by worldly status, wealth, ethnicity, or social influence. Our conduct, relationships, and ministry practices must reflect the reconciling love of Jesus Christ and remain accountable to the authority of Scripture.
And there is one more connection I would preserve: RCI's commitment to the disenfranchised must be more than a benevolent outreach program. It must shape the culture of the organization itself. We cannot proclaim reconciliation to people outside our doors while tolerating contempt, favoritism, or demeaning treatment inside them.
That gives us a standard for both the missionary in the field and the leader within the organization.
The message of reconciliation must be visible in the people who carry it.